VIDEO | Osaka, Japan Travel Vlog – We Came, We Saw, We Ate

I thought that allocating 10 days for our first Japan trip was a little overkill. Jr, who is a workaholic, doesn’t like vacationing as much so this was all me, stretching it. I crafted an itinerary where we are able to see the highlights — those were actually interested in — as well as off-the-beaten sites catering to our interests. I’ve balanced my need to pack it all in Amazing Race style and Jr’s more laissez faire holiday attitude.

And then we got to Japan and realize immediately that 10 days are not enough. You will never see them all.

In our 10 days in Japan, we had two full days in set aside for Osaka. On our first day, we went to Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen museum, where we got to make our own cup noodles. After 3 years, those cup noodles remains untouched and will forever be memorabilias. I know, because I’m staring at them now while they sit up on top of our fridge.

The next day, we went to Universal Studios Japan. Jr isn’t much of a rides person, and I was just content in walking through the park and taking in the sights while eating turkey legs along the way. This we did while we spent the day waiting to get inside The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. For a fan of both the books and the movies, it was kick seeing Hogsmeade and Hogwarts come to life and it was worth the long, long wait.

Universal Studios Japan, November 2014

But Osaka isn’t known to be Japan’s Kitchen for nothing. Later on that night, we went to Dotonbori and ate everywhere we can eat. Takoyaki, Sushi carousels, Okonomiyaki — the motto was as long as there’s a line, and there’s food at the end of that line, we will fall in line.